These are some photos from 2006, from a trip to Ibiza Prince William took with then Kate Middleton (his girlfriend of some-odd 3 or 4 years) and some friends. These are some of the rare photos we have of William and Kate’s many, many vacations of their on-and-off 11 years together. When they were just “dating,” they averaged about six to eight major vacations a year (not including weekend getaways), often with Kate’s parents and sometimes with William’s father. Since getting married in 2011, Kate and William have managed to keep up with their pre-engagement vacation schedule, even lying about their commitments or pushing aside royal duties so they could maintain their lay-about lifestyle.

Why bring this up? Because Prince William and Duchess Kate are on vacation right now. SHOCKING. They are in Mustique with Kate’s parents – this is one of the Middletons’ annual traditions, going to Mustique in January or February when, like, no one else has time off. I don’t really get it.

MUM-to-be the Duchess of Cambridge has jetted to the Caribbean for a holiday with Prince William after recovering from her morning sickness, The Sun can reveal.

Kate, 31 — who was hospitalised in December — is staying at a £19,000-a-week villa on the island of Mustique.

The luxury pad boasts an infinity pool, games room and stunning views of the Caribbean Sea. And the royal couple also have Kate’s parents Michael and Carole staying nearby.

Last night a source revealed: “The Duke and Duchess have joined the Middletons for a winter break. Both William and Kate were hoping her condition would not stop her from making the eight-hour flight to Barbados and the connection to Mustique. A month ago such a journey would have been unthinkable for her, so this is a clear sign she has made a virtual recovery.”

Kate and Wills, 30, have enjoyed more than six holidays on Mustique since they started dating. It was a favourite hideaway for his great aunt Princess Margaret.

At first I was like, “Oh, it’s The Sun, it’s probably BS.” But Us Weekly & People Mag confirmed it. It’s happening. They are staying at a $30,000-a-week villa, and Poor Brave Kate needs to be applauded for being so BRAVE as to undertake a grueling 8-hour flight… so that she could take a vacation. Again. The poor thing!

Hilariously, St. James Palace had to do some quick counter-programming because they knew the vacation story was going to break, so they released information yesterday that Kate (the poor, delicate, brave little sausage) was going to undertake her second public appearance on February 19th. That will be her second official public appearance in three months, I believe.

Kate Middleton isn’t scaling back her royal responsibilities. The pregnant Duchess of Cambridge will visit Hope House, Action on Addiction, in London on Tuesday, Feb. 19, St. James’ Palace announced on Tuesday, Feb. 5. This will be the 31-year-old’s second official appearance since announcing her pregnancy in December 2012.

Middleton will meet clients and staff at the 23-bed residential treatment center. Action on Addiction offers a safe place for women to recover from substance abuse; they are also given additional support for other compulsive disorders. Prince William’s pregnant wife became a patron of Action on Addiction in January 2012.

The mom-to-be has been seen in public only a handful of times since revealing her baby news late last year. She attended the unveiling of her first official portrait at the National Portrait Gallery on Jan. 11. “I thought it was brilliant,” Middleton told curators of the painting, created by Glasgow-born, South African-raised artist Paul Emsley.

In the following weeks, Middleton was spotted purchasing maternity clothes at JoJo Maman Bebe and browsing the racks at Reiss. Due in July, the duchess also emerged from Kensington Palace to order a drink from Starbucks and take her dog Lupo for a walk.

While royal parents have historically hired full-time teams to assist with newborns, Middleton and her 30-year-old husband want to handle the bulk of the childrearing, a source recently told Us Weekly: “They want to be as hands-on as possible.”

So Kate is so brave, so resilient, so tough, so amazing, so admirable to be shopping until she drops all over London, then jetting off for a tropical vacation, and then we have to be super-grateful that she deigns to make one public appearance every eight weeks or so? Seriously – what in the world is up with William and Kate’s publicity team? They are really crappy at their jobs. They wouldn’t have to work this hard if just one of them would sit down with William and Kate and tell them directly: “Stop taking so many vacations. Do some actual work. People will like you more if you stop looking so damn lazy.”

Addison: You don’t have to be assigned by the royal family to be involved in charities or bettering your life. Charity and/or work, while foreign to both William & Kate is something they could have been doing for the past 10 years but chose not to do out of their own selfish ways.

Addison,
If they are part time royals then they should get part time royal life style, since that’s not the case they need to work. Oh by the way their grace 2 years period will be over in April, so no they are not newly wed and should work for their privileges.

Work is healthy and good, it builds character, it keeps you connected with others and with your own life.

If you are working constantly at a job you can’t stand, pining for just one sanity saving break, or the freedom to take time off when you are sick, it is easy to not know or not be able to imagine how too much leisure is just as toxic, but it is. People psychically bloat and lose or never find their purpose.

Find the purpose that burns within you. At least know what it is, and then find some time, any time, to give to it. Honestly, I see no sign that Kate has any such thing going on.

Shopping and beaching it, spending too much time at the beauty salon, on the excessive level we are talking about here anyway is a symptom that something is wrong.

Addison: If I were Kate I’d be with GoodCapon down at the animal shelter promoting animal welfare. After I was done with that I would be over at an adoption agency, promoting adoption and the end of child abuse.

When ALL is said and done at the end of their lives they will be working till the day they die. You will all be doing nothing for the last 20 years of your life. Theirs will be full of work. Just shut up all of you. LEAVE THEM ALONE!

I call bullshit on this notion that Kate and William will be working in their 80s.

Elizabeth has always shown discipline in carrying out her duties, Charles has always been passionate about his causes. William and Kate? Nope and nope. They won’t magically develop work ethics as they grow older. So, yeah, this defense is just really dumb.

Addison you made a comment. You can’t complain that you’re getting a response that you won’t agree with.

They won’t be busy in their last 20 years. If they’re young and healthy now and still able to bring excuses of why they can’t work then what makes you think all the troubles of old age won’t also be used?

Many of us work full time and do charity work. We have a purpose and after all the work we do it makes a vacation all the more rewarding.

Kate should live it up. She can be divorced later in life and will not enjoy these perks. She’s being lazy and/or selfish. It’s the truth that stings the most Addison.

“I’d kill to have her position, possibilities and chance at being influencial and powerful.”

Hear hear!
That’s the only sad thing, to me, and the only thing I am envious. REALLY envious. Because I’ve had plans for years that would greatly improve the lives of millions, now and in the future. With her position and connections, I could make it start happening. NOW.

As for the “people would like her more if she did some real work” comment (in the article)… I don’t think she cares. That’s the incredible thing. Obviously, I don’t KNOW for sure whether she feels that way, but judging by her actions, she really couldn’t care less.

And, frankly, why should she?
There is nothing anyone can do to her as long as she doesn’t make some incredible faux pas of a criminal sort.

Mere dislike will not touch her.

Paraphrasing good old Caligula’s dictum, “Who cares if they love me, as long as they are afraid of me”, I suppose K.’s motto is: “Who cares if they love me as long as I and my family are financially secure and having fun. We are SET for life.”

Addison You can’t take this things personally. This is a gossip site with “bitchy” in the name. And at the end of the day don’t get too upset at a person’s opinion on the internet.

For the most part you took a position and posters tried to change your mind by offering up facts. Some were more crude because we’re sounding like broken records and it can become frustrating.

If I may speak for most of us.. We don’t hate Kate and are not jealous of her. We just want honesty and not lies is what it boils down to.

If you post on a Kate article again please bring facts on why she deserves a vacation or how she is a hard worker. What she is doing to deserve all the tax payer funded shopping sprees. If you post without facts and just tell us to leave her alone because you would also be lazy and vacation all the time like her people won’t be kind.

I totally agree with Addison.
These stupid stories and ill-conceived comments should have stopped a long time ago – they’re beyond “harmless bitchiness/fun”
William & Kate HAVE NOT taken full-time royal duties yet! Kate is NOT the Queen, nor is she at present in a position where she can be in control and able to exercise real Influence and (soft) POWER
True, she IS in a very privileged position (envied by many), and so far she’s had a great, positive impact on those areas she’s been involved with, which has the POTENTIAL of opening endless possibilities and the real chance of becoming truly influential and powerful. BUT as this moment, she does NOT have the authority and power that the Queen (or Charles) has.
Kate has HUGE POTENTIAL for bringing about positive change.

I think that’s true for most of us working folk. Hell, in my personal life, I know very few people who are truly “retired”, and certainly not with 20 years left of life. I have several people working my office in fact who are WELL into their 70′s. And I know I will be one of them. I call BS on that comment.

No need for vile language… Some people need to read slowly. As I said “some” I know many people work hard. Some of you though seem to feel as though you are entitled to tell her how to lead her life. You know what, you don’t… “If” the Queen felt they don’t do enough they would. Take it up with her. Good for all of you do gooders and your charitable causes. Run yourselves to death and if Kate does not that’s on her. No need to pat yourselves in the back for all the good you do while she does not. Because then you are only doing good so people will notice you.

@ Addison. From my posts on another page, about who actually sets the William and Kate Middleton schedule. And it is not Her Majesty.

Richard Palmer (RoyalReporter on twitter). Employed as royal reporter, at official press conferences, etc.

He asks questions publicly to Palace officials, and they answer directly to him on the record. His responses when queried about Kate’s work ethic? And please remember, he knows exactly what the Palace officials said because they said it to him, directly, officially, On the Record. (Spelling errors below are his, not mine)

From Spring 2012

Richard Palmer @RoyalReporter
@sofia09870 Kate’s office says she is dictating her own pace and is happy with it.

Richard Palmer @RoyalReporter
@sofia09870 Kate’s office says she is dictating her own pace and is happy with it.

Richard Palmer @RoyalReporter
@HMtheRedQueen She is dicatating the pace and her office says this how she wants to do it.

Richard Palmer
@HMtheRedQueen
One Sunday broadsheet claimed llast weekend there was concern Kate was doing too much. But there is no concern on that score.

****

William’s own words in an interview he gave about the Queen:

‘She’s very up for that sort of thing. And for me particularly, being the young bloke coming through, being able to talk to my grandmother, ask her questions and know that there’s sound advice coming back is very reassuring.’

But, equally, he is conscious of both the huge demands on her time and her firm belief in learning through experience.

‘It’s very much the case that she won’t necessarily force advice on you,’ he says. ‘She’ll let you work it out for yourself. She’s always there for a question or two, for whatever it is you might need.’ ‘My grandmother certainly does not care for celebrity’

‘But, just as she probably had to do, she feels that you have to work it out for yourself, that there are no set rules. You have to make it work. You have to do what you think is right. And she’s a prime example of that. She had to carve her own way, and she’s done it fantastically for 60 years.’

By Robert Hardman, exclusive interview, Daily Mail, 23rd September 2011

So if we’re going to blame anyone for William and Kate’s lazy behavior, the ones to blame are William and Kate.

@ My2Pence yeah because people always tell it like it is. Please it’s called a Public Face. What it actually is behind closed doors is something none of us will EVER know. I very much doubt that Williams response that you shared was not to the question, Why do you and your wife work so little. I’m pretty sure I saw that interview and I don’t recall the question being anything like that.

I really could care less that none one on this board agrees with me. Some of you say you presents facts, HA! That’s hilarious. Someone said they don’t want to be lied to. Why do YOU deserve truth? You are irrelevant in her life. I don’t aim to change anyone’s mind here. I know I won’t. I merely espress my viewpoint. As do you.

When you live in Kate’s glass house or any glass house you will have a different opinion. I guess I see things differently because for a while hundreads of people always felt they had the right to dictate my life and that of my family because of the job my father had. The hard part we had to love these people no matter what. It’s very painful when you do your best and it’s not good enough for society. None of us know anything about this family. We think we do because of the Face they allow us to see.

I hope none of you ever know what I mean. I doubt we will ever agree. You can’t know what you don’t know until you do.

@ Addison. I am sorry that you have experienced that level of animosity in your life, through no choice of your own. I also had parents who were in public, high-profile jobs in our community. You always have to watch every step, what you did, how you treated everyone, and how you did things. Members of the community always reported/tattled back to the parents.

My concern, and I suspect the concern of many, is that William and Kate do not seem to act as if they do live in a glass house. We are concerned that they may truly think that the taxpayers are, as you said, irrelevant in their lives. That is an incredibly dangerous and self-destructive attitude for public servants to take.

You are welcome to read the full article online. I meant it as a way to showcase the relationship between William and his grandmother in general, from which anyone is obviously free to extrapolate.

‘My grandma is incredible,’ says Prince William in exclusive, unprecedented and candid interview with author and journalist Robert Hardman

Well, Addison,I must be mistaken. Kate/Catherine IS the future Queen Consort of England, is she? Does she serve herself or her people? So she just can’t brush off public opinion because William and her think it’s “irrelevant.” It’s unfortunate that Catherine has mentioned she does not care what other people think. Correct me if I’m wrong, Marie Antoinette and Caligula most likely had the same attitude, and look what happened to them.

@ Elise
First, Kate is only married to the heir to the Heir, she is NOT the future (i.e: next) Queen Consort. Unless Charles dies or relinquishes his right to the throne, He & Camilla will be the next King & Queen (no matter what they call her). So, W&K have a long wait, possibly 25 years, ahead of them.
I also watched (and recorded) their engagement interview, and I don’t recall her ever saying she “did not care what other people think” (imagine the headlines if she truly have said that??!) I clearly remember her saying that the people she’s worked with knew how hard she worked and that was what mattered (i.e: they know better). – That’s all! …Amazing how some people find fault in everything she says/does or profess to know her most intimate thoughts and motives

The Heir to Heir argument doesn’t really stand at this point. Different times, different financial realities. Charles is pruning the royal family back hard. 3000+ engagements a year will need to be handled by just Charles, Camilla, William, Kate, and Henry. And Henry will be required by the taxpayers to work full-time in the services to prove he isn’t “sponging.” Most of the current “working royals” are past retirement age. They have given decades of service to Her Majesty and deserve to be allowed to retire. WAY past time for William and Kate to Get To Work Full Time. 600+ engagements per year minimum, pregnant or not.

@My2Pence
The Heir to Heir argument is very relevant (with so many heirs alive) – I only made it in relation to Elise’s comment above. If I understood her correctly, Camilla IS the future Queen Consort, not Kate (just saying…that’s all!).
However, I agree very much with what you say about Charles drastically slimming down the RF, and him, Camilla, William, Kate & Harry forming the inner royal core (with possibly only Anne, Edward, Sophie, Andrew, Beatrice & Eugenie as peripheral working royals??) Again, I see this type-scenario really happening when the Queen dies, by which time Charles would be King and William the new PoW – i.e: the Heir Apparent (a big difference to just being the DoC!). William will also inherit/run the Duchy of Cornwall – So, be in no doubt, W&K are being prepared (behind closed doors) for all these changes (new titles, rank, role, responsibilities & duties) …Until then, I don’t really see them taking centre stage any time soon – not before the Queen dies & Charles becomes King … unless Charles allows it (unlikely).
I’m not so sure about Harry, he may be allowed to stay in the military for a further 2 years…!?

SISI, again I ask: Does Catherine serve herself or her people? Will she be more lauded for her fashion sense and for begettting heirs, than for her service to her people (like the Queen)? It’s also amazing how her fans defend everything she does, at times to the point that they don’t make sense and often to the point of sycophancy. I don’t profess to know Catherine’s innermost thoughts: do you? How do you know she gives a fig what people think?

I am willing to give Catherine and William a chance, but like I’ve mentioned before, I am quite skeptical with her past work history. What really turned me off was when she dropped out of the Sisterhood Race in 2007 once her and William got back together, citing “safety concerns” partly in William’s part. She practiced with the girls in the Thames as much as she could, girlfriend even managed to look flawless while doing it. She knew she will be rowing her butt across the English Channel (dangerous and quite a feat, no? and something she can add to her CV), and she dropped out of the charity as soon as she was back with William. Addison was right, Catherine does not owe any of us an explanation. But actions do speak louder than words.

@Elise
Of course, Kate is serving the people!! IMO, she & William take their roles very seriously (also Harry). One thing I’ve noticed with the Monarchy is that doing public appearances is just a tiny fraction of all the things they do. There’s a LOT more (of major importance) that goes on behind closed doors that we never get to see/know about. Kate likes to work behind the scenes (always have done), which suits everyone (particularly Charles)!
You speak as if Kate is about to become the next monarch, after the Queen dies – She is not in the line of succession, and will never be a reigning monarch like QE2, only Queen (consort) if/when William becomes King, which will probably be 20-25 years from now!
By all counts, her life as a royal – as HRH The Duchess of Cambridge – is just beginning. She’s been a member of the RF for less than 2 years (yes, the 8 years prior, as William’s girlfriend does NOT count). William is only 2nd in line, still in active service with the military (one day he will be the Head of the Armed Forces as well as Head of State, Monarch and Supreme Governor of The Church). He is not yet a full-time working royal so Kate cannot be expected to carry out royal duties (including charity work) full-time – Royal protocol requires Kate to never overtake/outshine the Queen, Pr Philip, Charles, Camilla and William. Not only she must walk behind them and leave the room after them, but she will never have the same level & number of engagements as the Queen (the monarch), Charles (the heir), Camilla (<200) and William … no matter how ready & willing she is (Kate graduated 5-6 month into the marriage, when she covered for Charles alone!).
When Diana married Charles, she automatically became the Princess of Wales and as such, was expected to perform her role & carryout her royal duties Full-Time, and straight away – Charles had already been in the military, was running the Duchy of Cornwall, been PoW and full-time working royal for MANY years (a very different couple and a completely different situation to W&K)
If you are really “willing to give Catherine & William a chance” -as you say- then you (& others like you)would need to be less judgemental/hyper-critical of everything she says/does, and less resentful of her privileges & for being eased into royal life (unlike Diana), and trully accept that she has worked before marrying William in her gap-year & after graduating – incl. for her parents business which was out of the public eye.
Kate does NOT owe any of us an explanation – She is not public property

SISI, Catherine may not be public property, but she is certainly not a private citizen anymore once she married William. You can twist that however you want to. Why do you suppose not many women were lining up for the job to marry the second in line to the throne? You can defend her work history and how “she’s working behind the scenes” (whatever that means). If you’re truly “working behind the scenes,” why would you let it be known? Let’s not forget that short-lived picture she was in with her mother in the Party Pieces website (that picture was up when news was going around the Queen was concerned with her work ethic, and then it was gone again). Her work history is sporadic and spotty at best. I call bull that she is currently “slowly” being eased into royal life, when in fact she has been eased into royal life for the past 8 years William and her have been together prior to their engagement. During their engagement this was a woman who was supposedly “different” from Diana because she has had 8 years to see what royal life is like, and had the option of backing out. She is college-educated and also older than Diana at the time of her engagement (i.e., not naive). And this was a woman who “never put out a foot wrong.” She is perfect princess material and she ticked all the boxes!

You are convinced Catherine already knows what it means to serve her people. But what does that really mean to her? I would like to know: don’t you want to know? The palace seems content putting her out there as simply a clotheshorse, but we do not know what she is really like, or her opinion on the economic crisis that still affects many people around the world. Giving William and Catherine “a chance” does not mean blind adoration or sycophancy. If you are truly a fan of theirs, you have to look at both sides. I think people have a lot of expectations on the couple because they are currently and constantly being put on a pedestal as “The Future of the Monarchy!” “Wills and Kate Will Save the Monarchy!” “Wills and Kate: The Changing Face of the Monarchy!” “Kate the Great!” But perhaps they should not be put on such a pedestal. I sometimes wonder, What happened to the Catherine who spoke of wanting to become a schoolteacher at her old school at St. Andrew’s? I am not speaking for most, but a “princess” should be more than just a clotheshorse, or waving to the crowds, or cutting ribbons.

But she’s not afraid to frequent Starbucks… Isn’t there a huge public outcry against SBUX in the UK these dayas? about the company not paying its taxes for years? Shouldn’t Kate be boycotting in solidarity with the royal subjects?

Definately NO
She shouldn’t (and she won’t) boycot Starbucks or engage in any such activities! In case you didn’t notice, Kate is a senior royal, a future queen. She is a high-profle (non-political) Ambassador and Royal Patron, representing the Royal Family and Bristih interests home and abroad.
Kate is NOT a prisoner, she can go out & about as often as she pleases.
She can visit the shops for groceries and clothes as normal people do, and have a “coffee” in Starbucks …or whatever EVERYDAY if she so wishes. Her private time is her own business
…The cheek of some people here is AMAZING!!

I …. just really dislike her. Compared to the regal, chic, devoted, humble and focused ….plus way more stylish… influence of Diana, this crap is jsut so boring and even offensive. She’s not using the role to its fullest. Nobody is saying she has to, apparently– but its not to anyones advantage but her own, apparently, to just live the lifestyle only.

Diana had her flaws, but she worked very hard and really accomplished something important in the short time she had. She was a great example of what the sheer will to make one’s life mean something can do.

You know I get rather tired of this cult of Diana. Yes, she did accomplish a lot and was very involved in her charities, but that was later in her marriage. In the beginning she concentrated on getting pregnant and being a mother as was expected of her and her position. As for being so humble, I don’t know about that. I do feel that she was extremely PR savvy and was able to manipulate the media at the time to show her in her best light.

I can make a case for all of Diana’s bad points, but the work front is the ONLY area where she deserves all the praise that is heaped on her.

It’s a matter of record how much she worked, right from her honeymoon. Her first year has close to 200 engagements which only increased in subsequent years.

In later years, her charities and causes were MORE high profile as opposed to the earlier years when she worked more mundane less sexy stuff to capture people’s imagination. That’s why people are easily sold on the idea that she didn’t really work in her early years.

She was never coddled or made to feel special in any way by the palace or the family nor were excuses given for her. She was expected to work AND produce an heir and spare, which she did.

And when her personal life was a mess, she didn’t hide, she worked MORE.

That is something that can never be taken from her. And it is a very poor show to do so.

@LAK ugh I really hate to defend Kate in this instance because I just don’t like her. I haven’t found her likeable from the get-go and was disappointed when they got married. And still feel that way. I like Diana waaay more.

However…you talked about how much Diana worked in the beginning, and then how she worked even more once things began to fall apart personally. I think it’s highly possible the royal family wants to avoid Diana-gate at all costs. So if Diana worked a lot in the beginning, Kate will not. Etc.

I think they will coddle them as a couple because it is preferable for them to be together and married than to risk the marriage suffering and a possible ensuing scandal.

I’m not saying it’s right, just that the royal family may be doing what they think is required to build a successful marriage. Maybe the plans are for them to work less as they build a family, and then step up the appearances once the kids are older. Or maybe not. We don’t know. Maybe Will and Kate are just really lazy. Maybe it’s both.

Diana made the point repeatedly that work saved her life. She did it to resolve the emptiness in her life.

her work rate was never the problem. the problem was her personal life. would she have worked less if she was personally content? perhaps. But she was not one to sit at home even when supported by her wealthy family.

The more her personal life fell apart the more she worked. not because she was forced to do so, it was a form of therapy for her.

What happened is that the more she worked, the more she embarrassed the royal family because by comparison they seemed unfeeling and uncaring. It became a competition for the spotlight between her and the royal family.

That is what the palace is trying to avoid. They have spun the situation to seem like they are trying not to overwhelm Kate but really what they want to avoid is Kate becoming a star and obscuring the family.

Its not a cult of Diana- and its not saying she was perfect or great. its jsut the very obvious contrast between the two. Yes Diana had her own issues, there are books written about it. BUT when it came to charity representation, mingling with the people, and inspiring people- she did it. Kate is beyond non inspiring in nearly every single way. That was my only point, swo dont twist the post into something pro-diana when it was solely anti-kate.
My logic is this: any amount of personal flaws cannot undo the contributions Diana made to society.
Similarly, any personal good or lack of bad that Kate has, cannot make up for her sitting on her ass sunbathing or shopping.

That’s not entirely true. She just inspired a thought in me: “Royalty” is wasted on the “royals”. ))

(Oh, by the way, in case someone mistakes the quote marks for emphasis, as some do: they are not emphasis; they really are just quote marks, if you know what I mean.)

I used to think she was getting settled into her new lifestyle, but now… nah, I think she genuinely has no interests to speak of.

I am in the arts, so the thought of NOT working till the day I drop – literally – would kill me. I love working, I love the satisfaction that comes from the process itself and from the fact that something I do then goes on to do something for others.

I know not everyone – and Kate, specifically – is as lucky.
But at least she has extraordinary amounts of money and visibility.
And she wastes it on… what, exactly?
I don’t even know how she is wasting it, because she doesn’t seem to be doing ANYTHING.

Good on you for calling them out on this. I am no fan of monarchy per se, but they can serve a diplomatic/PR function as representatives for their country. These two layabouts are plain lazy. They need to earn at least a portion their privileged lifestyle. And I don’t believe she had that extreme morning sickness thing. I think she had normal morning sickness and couldn’t deal.

I know she did look a bit ‘frail’ after the hospitalisation for HG but I think that is easily achieved with a mix of standard morning sickness + no fake tan + realistic eyeliner + less barrel-y curls. I don’t harbour any ill-will for the girl – she is just some rich chick who married some richer dude and now they are having a baby. But we shouldn’t pretend she can’t play up the ‘frail’ bit when it suits her.

I agree with most of the sentiment expressed on here. I always thought Prince William was like his mom and down with the peasants and a hard worker and would take his job seriously but since these two clowns got married I have seen otherwise. Why does he need a 2 year grace period? He has been prepping for this role his entire life and we know Waity Katy has been as well, if not more so than him. I also don’t believe she had HG, from all I have ever heard about it from people who got it they were sick the entire 9 months and in the hospital for much of that getting fed by an IV.

However, she does look amazing in these photos from a year ago. And @Monie – yes there are people that stupid just go over to People.com and read the comments section. They are such simpletons. That is why I believe in the minivan majority theory.

I agree with everything that you (Lady Jane and TG) say. I didn’t know what “minivan majority theory” means. So I googled and here is my thoughts. The comments section of People.com is made by americans. The majority is americans. Kate and William are truly loved in USA. The problem is, USA isn’t their kingdom. Go to Daily Mail where the “british minivan majority” comment and you will be shocked. The fury against them is increasing in a royalist people territory (Daily Mail).

Maybe I’m missing something, but what do any of them do? The Queen works, but the rest of them? Didn’t Di do most of her work post divorce and vacation a lot in between? I just don’t find this shocking. They’re all like this.

Please for the love of good use your friend Google before making such ignorant comments. Diana did 200 plus engagements every single year, she actually started doing less after the divorce. All Queen’s children, daughter in laws, cousins and their wives do 250 plus or 300 plus engagements every year irrespective of their places in the line of succession to throne, together they support hundreds of charities. These two are the only one who don’t work, even Harry who just returned from Afghanistan will start doing his charitable and royal work by the end of this month, he is not taking even a whole month off from work unlike his lazy entitled lying brother and sister in law. So no except these two everyone else works hard for their position s.

Thank you Angelic 20. I was wondering the approx number of engagements Diana did esp while pregnant.
There was only one infamous trip south when paps took photos of Diana five mos pregnant with William.
Upon return to LHR- she went right back to work.

The comparison to Diana makes me wonder about their differences in upbringing. Diana was upper-class aristocracy (yet still had a fledgling career as a nanny and pre-school teacher, if I’m not mistaken) and Kate is “new money.”

Seems to me that “new money” is more about flaunting wealth and the superficial trappings. Whereas “old money” tends to be more purposeful and giving with their time and money to important causes.

That’s a broad generalization, to be sure, but it seems to me that might be a big factor in the difference between the two women. As far as using her title for good and noble purposes, Diana “got it” in a way that Kate does not.

Even royals that some would consider minor like Princess Alexandra of Kent carries out many official engagements and charities for the Queen. I think the older generation of royals just work harder than Will and Kate.

Camilla has just started an initiative for rape victims. It might sound silly or no big deal, but she’s working to put together cosmetic packs of soap, and other toiletries for rape victims when they shower after all their forensic exams. Might not sound like much, but the first thing a rape victim wants is to scrub the rape off her, which she can’t do until all the evidence is collected.

So that’s one thing someone is doing that really might make a difference to some people.

I read about that yesterday. It was an incredibly well thought out initiative. Camilla spent time with advocates & survivors to come up with something that will help them. Kate can’t be arsed to do anything beyond shopping.

It’s such a simple, yet thoughtful act that will make a world of difference in someones life.

It’s this that bothers me. You have charities banging down your door for 5 minutes to talk. They don’t want money as much as they want time. When all your time is spent vacationing it’s insulting to the charities.

Bluhare, thank you so much for sharing this. I had no idea Camilla was spearheading this charity, but that is an amazing idea. Makes me like her, when I have always harbored a home-wrecker feeling towards her.

I used to hate Camilla back when I bought into the poor abused Diana and her mean uncaring husband story. Now I like her and think she and Charles were the real storybook romance. It’s a shame he could not marry her in the first place, would have saved a deal of suffering for all.

Camilla seems warm and down to earth from what I’ve heard and unlike many, she keeps her mouth firmly shut and her dignity in tact no matter what the provocation.

Isn’t Camilla also active in raising awareness about the dangers of osteoporosis?
Her mother actually DIED of it.
And I must admit, I did not know that people could die of that until I read about her mother. And about how powerless Camilla felt when she could just watch and do nothing, because there was nothing to be done.

I don’t understand the laziness of the younger royals. Even from my perspective as a US citizen, it is irksome to see such self-absorption. Don’t they understand that if they would only attempt to share of their time, they would actually feel better about themselves? It works for me, and I certainly don’t have the royal coffers at my disposal.

If Camilla had been mainstream-attractive the way Diana would have been, the press’s treatment of her would have been very different. They would have treated her and Charles’s involvement like a a tragic love story, her as a longing, spurned woman torn away from her love by poor circumstances and Diana as just the young hot attempt at a replacement. Mark my words. Charles and Camilla’s wedding would have been celebrated as the happy ending to an otherwise tragic romance and Camilla as the persevering lover. I’ve always felt a little sorry for Camilla for this reason. Don’t get me wrong– I’m a HUGE Diana fan and think the affair was awful, but to me the biggest villain in that situation was Charles and the Queen and the way The Firm went after her and treated her like crap. But you can’t talk smack about the family, so Camilla was made the villain.

@Wendynerd – You are completely right. I’ve always felt that part of the reason Camilla gets villified so much is that she upset the fairytale ideal. Prince Charming is not supposed to leave the beautiful princess for the ugly maid. It’s supposed to be the other way around. He leaves ugly maid for the beautiful fair kind maiden to make his princess!!!

Camilla never had it easy since day one. Despite a load of royal duties under her belt and any PR whitewashing she will always be seen as that other woman in that marriage.

Kate, on the other hand, has it easy. Maybe it’s because she’s more presentable (younger and better-looking than Cam), she has the media on her side (thanks to William’s bullying) and most importantly, she’s the wife of Diana’s son. All she had to do was build on that automatic goodwill yet she prefers to throw it back on the public’s faces and give them the middle finger.

I think Camilla’s new initiative is great (and I hate her)! I only wish she had encouraged volunteers to put the packages together instead of her staff at the palace!! That way more people would be aware of it and maybe inspired to keep volunteering. JMO.

With regard to her looks, she was pretty nice looking when she was younger but smokes like a chimney so, hence the face we see today. Also, sorry, but PLEASE! She CHOSE not to wait for Charles and decided to marry someone else while he was away doing military duty…so in some sense she has no one to blame but herself.

Bingo! I was just about to post this. For all the people who say that Kate was always “naturally” that thin, look at pics like these. She looks totally different here. It was her right to lose weight if she wanted to, but don’t pretend she was always a size zero.

As for the vacation, when I read about it on People, my first thought was of Celebitchy . Didn’t people call it here a few weeks ago, that they’d still be taking the Mustique vacation? Ah, at this point I just laugh at those two.

Or her fans will just comment on her “awesome” body and tan and completely ignore everything written about her umpteenth vacation and barely existent charity work. Scroll through this thread for multiple examples.

XYZ – that, or resort to ad hominem attacks by calling others “jealous haters”, or derail the topic by comparing Kate to Kim Kardashian and other “lazy celebrities” to try to make Kate look better by comparison.

Can we finally stop pretending she has HG?
When dealing with William and Kate, the word to remember is semantics. Most likely the doctors told Kate they wanted to make sure her bout of morning sickness wasn’t as severe as HG, and to garner public sympathy after the Paralympics/nude photos scandal, they told a half-lie. They’ve lied to the public several times before so it’s not out of character for them.

My guess is her current inactivity (as opposed to her usual inactivity) is because she’s struggling with being pregnant while also dealing with a severe eating disorder. It would explain the tin ear for public opinion. That, or they’re just incredibly arrogant and lazy, which sadly is also very likely.

Oh but boy oh boy did she ever get sympathy from this site! Almost everyone on here was duped by her fake HG diagnosis. I totally agree with your thoughts of morning sickness and eating disorder… although I think it’s very selective morning sickness. She has it when duty calls but doesn’t have it when shopping or vacation calls. Kate is a JOKE. And she’s laughing at everyone that she fools.

Why should she – would that make her a better person to fly on holiday in economy? She is not equal to ‘us’ and never will be – shes a member of the royal family & can help with good causes after baby making…

Just like all the charity work she did before starting to make babies? Oh Ruby Red poor deluded royal worshipper. When she finally has kids they will be her new excuse for not doing anything. She’s a busy Mom with no time for work. Even though she will have 10 nannies. The girl just wants the easy life of luxury. She should have married a billionaire looking for a trophy wife but he might upgrade every 10 years. Marrying into the royal family means lower chance Wills will divorce her for a new piece. Delivering an heir means she is set for life.

@T.C.
i wouldn’t be so quick to say that she’s set for life. look at Diana, she gave birth to an heir and a spare, had the adoration of the nation if not the world, and still she got the boot.

William comes across as petulant, childish, and self-entitled. there’s nothing that can stop him from cutting off ties with Kate if he wanted to one day. maybe he’ll wake up one day with a mid-life crisis and who knows. if he wants it, not even the most well-crafted Middleton machination will stop him from getting what he wants. poor Kate will be in the cross-fire again.

not that i wish ill on anyone’s marriage (definitely not wishing it on the as yet unborn heir and future children), but it can happen.

Lower case,
I agree with you that Wills could divorce her but it’s still less chance of that happening in the royal family than with Joe Average billionaire who could go through 4 wives in 20 years. After the divorce Diana was set for life with the settlement so Kate will be too. Like Diana other rich guys will want to date an ex-Princess so again she will never have to work. The difference between her and Diana is Di liked working with the charities. I think it gave her purpose in life. Everyone needs a purpose otherwise you become just a lazy bum, a waste of oxygen.

Ruby Red Lips,you said in a comment below: “The royal family do so much for the British economy just for existing…”.
LOL
I’m sorry, but you are a “poor deluded royalty worshipper”. Pretty sure about that. No one can be so naive about this family.

Now that they’re married and the whole press ban has been lifted from Will I really hope the paps get in there and get photos of all of their 20 vacations a year and nail these two lazy asses to the wall.

And that right there is the problem. They are not celebrities and should never be mistaken as being one, they are royal. Last time I checked, celebrities pay their own way and are not funded by the taxpayer.

Yes, they are terribly greedy and shilling for freebies all of the time– some of them anyway. Gwyneth Paltrow comes to mind.

But none of this is paid by the taxpayer, and the only reason this happens at all is that the designers who are willing and happy to send out all these freebies get something out of it. They hope that the celebrity will wear the item to some function or another, which can be very cost effective advertising. Suddenly they are in every fashion magazine without having to pay a thing.

Rumor has it that Paris Hilton accepted some free jewelry, and then told a reporter that it was from “Jacob the Jeweler.” Herds of designers promptly removed her from their freebie list.

Because celebrities are NOT paid for by the taxpayer. The British taxpayer is funding Kate’s royal lifestyle and because of that she does not have the same opportunities to vacation constantly the way celebs do and get away with it. No one cares how much a celeb vacations because they are spending their own money on all their vacations. Kate is using tax money, if not for the actual $30,000-a-week villa (which she might actually be using tax money for it, but we haven’t been told who’s actually footing the bill), for her security team while she’s there–because her security follows her everywhere and is paid for by the taxpayer. Kate and Will, and all the royals, are different from you, me, celebs, other super rich people in that the royals are recieving taxpayer money to sustain their lavish lifestyle. If any celeb was taking tax money and constantly vacationing, they would get crucified, too.

I agree @TC – She had the best body. It was very thin but toned and very athletic looking. Now she looks frail and weak. Which, I don’t understand because she obviously ate those 10 years she was dating him so why suddenly has she decided that a Duchess has to be anorexic?

Well you’re not royalty so I could really care less if you are a slackass. Kate has certain duties and traditions to uphold, which she does not. She also has an incredible chance to make a difference or do something positive with her role and again, she chooses to do nothing. She is a huge waste of potential.

Totally agree with @Nic,, plus shes pregnant (& before all the comments on how everyone worked up until their due date start) if I didnt have to work and could vacation whilst pregnant then I would.

Kate has plenty of time to do good work in the future which I’m sure she will & as much as it isn’t fair there are always wealthier people who will go on vacation severeal times a year, it may suck for some but thats how it is

What in Kate’s background gives you the impression she will work later in life? She did nothing for 10 years while hoping/praying for William to give her a ring. She’s done nothing in 2 years of marriage. In fact, when she has done something for her charities, it’s been 45 minutes of meet & greet followed immediately by shopping or a vacation.

So please, tell me what you see in Kate that says she will work later in life?

Ruby Red I get where you’re coming from. I do. She can vacation, shop all the time and never has to work if she chooses to. It’s just hard to understand why she would do that.

Yes it’s fun for awhile, but once the shopping is done and you’re in between vacations what exactly is left? Is there a sense of purpose? Friends to hang out with while your husband is on 1 of his many vacations away from you?

It’s sad she chooses this. She will never work unless William told her to get a job or sign the divorce papers. She even with her money and vacations is an empty shell and I do not envy her.

Defend her all you want, but don’t be shocked when she continues to avoid work like the plague.

True but the Middletons latched onto any place connected to the royal family for the sole purpose of putting their daughters in close proximity to the princes. Most people with that knowledge are not quite so scheming.

Being sent to Marlborough College, where Princess Beatrice and Eugenie were pupils, attending St Andrew’s University in Scotland, where Prince William was a student…further examples of The Middleton’s repugnant social climbing.

@MisJes, please get your facts right before blurting out such spurious accusations about someone!!
Princess Beatrice never studied at Marlborough College, she went to St. Georges School in Ascot (the daughter of a friend of mine studied with her – Was/Is she a social climber? No).
Princess Eugenie (9 years younger than Kate!) boarded at Marlborough LONG AFTER Kate had finished her studies there. In fact, Kate was already in her 3rd year of her 4 years Honours Degree at St Andrew’s University in Scotland (where also my nephew went) …BTW, Samantha Cameron (PM’s wife) also went to Marlborough
By the time Prince William announced that he had decided to study History of Art in St. Andrews instead of Cambridge (his original choice), all UK applications to universities in the UK (which are done through UCCAS)had already taken place (this is done months in advance, before sitting final years A Level exams at college)and could NOT be changed. Therefore, the Art History degree at St Andrews University MUST have been one of Kate’s original 3 courses/universities choices Furthermore, the choice of St. Salvatore’s as the Halls of Residence could not be made by Kate, it’s done randomley by the university’s recruitment staff – the Hall’s application form is also submitted months in advance, with the original course application.
Many people here & other gossip sites are giving Carole far, FAR Too Much credit – The Middletons are very wealthy for sure, but not that WEALTHY (or influencial) … certainly not then!!

I agree 100% that she is wasting her time, her potential, the kind of endless possibilities she has in her privileged position… seems she’s just not really interested. Pretty disappointing, yeah. Oh Kate… the lights are on but there’s nobody home.

Oh come on! She worked! She was the photographer for her parents’ business Party Pieces! That must have been exhausting, photographing all those paper plates and balloons. Double eye-roll.http://www.partypieces.co.uk/

I think this severe morning sickness business was actually a cover-up for some sort of severe nutrient deficiency. She was horribly thin, clearly underweight, and the pregnancy would have put a huge strain on her already frail body. Her IV was probably full of vitamins.

She’s lazy, vapid and vain, something I thought William wouldn’t have wanted in a wife because of Diana’s influence.

I think that what William really wanted in a wife (and what the royal family wanted too) was someone who wouldn’t give him any trouble and wouldn’t outshine him. They wanted to avoid the PR nightmare that Diana became for them. So Kate is actually the perfect wife for Will – she wants to shop and go on vacations. And she does what the palace tells her to do.

Agree with one exception–I really find it hard to believe the Queen is not herself worried about their laziness and indulgent lifestyle given her lifelong devotion to duty and service to her people. Wondering if she will be calling Wills in at some point for a “talk”.

And I am quite certain, if there is an afterlife, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert are quivering with disapproval.

@Bored suburbanwife
i think the queen just sighed a long sigh and washed her hands off this. she has given sixty years of flawless service to the country, and if her successors are hell-bent to make the monarchy end with them, then so be it, i guess. in the meantime, she’ll just work and concentrate on that.

there was this small clip, Kate was showing the queen around the Wedding exhibit, and early in the tour the queen was saying “I don’t approve of any of this” in a sort of defeated way.

at some point, one just has to stop worrying about the future of people who don’t care about the future anyway.

don’t get me wrong, i think she love all the grandchildren and worry about them (which grandma wouldn’t), but at some point one just has to remind oneself that “they’re adults. let them shoulder their own consequences. i’ll worry about mine.”

@lower case: would not be surprised. After the whole Diana-Fergie debacle she may have decided to throw in the towel and go with the flow.

On the wheel of history, Albert and Victoria following a long period of Rgency debauchery and self indulgence in which the monarch lost all real power to Parliament, cleverly repurposed the Royals into a body that set a good example and sought to actively improve the lives of their subjects. The present Queen and to some extent Charles have followed that example. With Wills and Kate, they seem to be heading into another cycle of debauchery and self indulgence and the on archly will again be without purpose other than to provide material for tabloid gossip. At the rate they are going, they will be turning into the Grimaldis in a few years.

littlestar – BP has had a wedding exhibition every summer since it began opening it’s doors to the public. You can see royal wedding dresses going back to Queen Victoria’s wedding dress. Only Diana’s dress is not included.

This particular exhibition was the first time Kate’s dress was included in the exhibition.

Kate apparently helped out with the exhibition and was taking The Queen around to have a look at it. unfortunately for everyone, The Queen”s words were caught on camera as they were going around. She wasn’t happy about any of it at all.This was also the event Kate made her infamous Faberge eggs comment.

@littlestar
i’m not really sure about the context, since it’s only a snippet. the Queen was saying something along the line of “i’m not very keen on this, i don’t approve of it”.

maybe she’s commenting about the exhibition in general (e.g. opening the palace is one thing, but exhibition is another?), or just this exhibition? i’m not completely sure. different parties can interpret it differently, i guess.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHbOK0IVALQ
(as @LAK wrote, this was also the same event as the famous Faberge gaffe, but in this clip, it’s just the wedding gown visit; there’s a longer video which includes them viewing the Faberge, but i can’t find it yet).

FWIW, two things stand out to me from the clips i have seen on this exhibition: 1. the set-up seems haphazard, it does no justice to the decor and by extension the exhibited pieces–there is just no clear narrative to it; 2. i know that Kate’s dress is the most recent dress, but is it good idea to put it in the throne room? i would have guessed that the current monarch’s dress be put in the throne room.

for dresses exhibition, i commend the First Ladies dresses exhibition at Smithsonian. it doesn’t detract from the important (the exhibit itself), and the setup gives viewers a clear sense of narrative and history. give it a dedicated room, especially if there’s going to be a wedding gown exhibit every summer. and it’s not like there’s going to be one new dress every year.

Absolutely!!
Delivering the next heir (first one of this century/millenium), supporting William (a future king) and helping to create a new model for the royal “family” for this century, are essential for the Monarchy’s future survival.
She is fulfilling her role very well, indeed.

Dani,
Royal family actually canceled their annual skiing vacation because of bad economic times in England and no member of rf takes these many vacations while doing so little work, absolutely no one. Also we were told she was too sick to undertake 1 hour long engagement and William needs to be at her bed side and cancel his engagements and take compassionate leave from his job, but ever since this PR story she has attended celebrity award show, dinner parties, hunting parties, travelling up and down the country, shopping several days while being too sick to do even the bare minimum that is required from her. Tell me how exactly she is okay to do all this but can’t support her charity that have to cancel their fund raising program on 8 February because they couldn’t raise the profile of their event? Of course the charity function conflicted with her vacation so she decided not to support them in any way, so yes she is objecting to do her bare minimum duties with her mere 4 charities since it’s clear that she is not sick .

It would be nice to see Kate find a cause she is passionate about, but I too don’t understand all the hate. Celebrities and royals all take multiple vacations because they can. I would too if I had the money and time the way they do.

I would imagine she limits her public appearances because 1) William doesn’t want Kate traumatized by the media the way Diana was and 2) Putting herself out there will lead to media frenzy because everyone wants a pic of the bump.

What was she s doing before the baby bump? She will always be photographed for the rest of her life, so by your logic she will never be working for the rest of her life? Not to mention Diana loved doing charity work and wasn’t traumatised by work but by her cheating husband and other mental health issue s and courted media constantly all her life. Again if she is too traumatised to work then why should she get anything from tax payers and duchy of Cornwall? Do you get your salary even though you are not working? Please stop using the word hate, it sounds so childish and immature.

Celebrities usually have to work to stay celebrities. And if it were their money that supported them, I wouldn’t have an issue with it either. But it isn’t. And on the same day the vacation is announced, their office has to put out a statement that she’s going to undertake one engagement later in the month to counteract what they knew was going to be an onslaught of criticism.

Diana was 19 to Kate Middleton’s 30. Diana had less than a year in the spotlight before marriage, Kate and William were together for a decade before they married. In Diana’s own words, her work saved her when her marriage fell apart. She loved her work, and worked very hard 150+ engagements in her first year, while actually being violently ill with morning sickness (instead of the fake HG diagnosis of Kate’s).

Why exactly are Kate Middleton fans convinced she is a special snowflake and incapable of actually working for a living? Do they not understand how insulting that is to Middleton?

Kate Middleton and William had a decade in which to building this “relationship,” heavily-protected by the Palace and from the press. William is still bullying the press to only write positive articles. Now it is far past time for them to get to work.

@ kct. Kate Middleton has been photographed out shopping and visiting Starbucks in London for the past two weeks. So if girlfriend didn’t want anybody trying to take a picture of her bump, why didn’t she stay home? Why not stay in one of her taxpayer-funded homes, make her own coffee, and order online?

Or better yet, if she’d actually been doing her JOB for the past 18 months, out 4-5 days a week on official engagements and publicly working with charities, the so-called frenzy for pictures would have died down by now.

There is no true equivalent in other countries, but i shall use the best analogy that can hopefully explain the situation. Imagine if your president and his wife behaved this way. And getting paid regardless. These people are not celebrities. They are our representatives.

But the royals are so different than the potus because he actually has a say in running the country meanwhile the Queen doesn’t really have the same authority. But I do get the connection of the waste that it would be.

@Dani – I couldn’t think of a better analogy because as i said, there isn’t a straight forward equivalent to our system. The problem though is that tabloid treat the royals as celebrities leading people to view and judge them as though they are celebrities which they are not.

And for the record, The Queen retains some rights that can derail a government if she chose to exercise them. She’s not just ornamental. Viewed superficially, one could say that she’s an ambassador as that is the most visible part of her job. The charity aspects of it is something the family developed as a PR exercise to distract the masses so we don’t remember that they are actually pointless. That we have a PM who does the executive bit of governing.

For now, the other members of the family are tasked with charitable endevours because they do make a difference. WK not doing their quota is focusing people’s minds on how useless the Monarchy is.

OK, yes, she’s lazy and wasteful but WHOA she looks slamming in those photos!
I agree with Ziggy, I would if I Could too. But I’ll knock her for a second.

The queen doesn’t take vacations like this, does she? It’s kind of amazing, isn’t it? I think the queen has done a really good job of preserving the staid noble image of the monarchy whereas these two really do look like a pair of wasteful party animals.

Remember 2 years ago when many people rejoiced the wedding and accused anyone not praising William and Kate as jealous, bored, and needs to get a life?

How the tide has turned. Even the sycophants have trouble defending this latest PR blunder except to go the usual and stale route of “They are royals and they can do whatever they want.” Their staunch defense doesn’t even make sense nowadays, they’re just grasping at straws and clinging to the PR lies and delusions.

The St. James Palace announcement was so obvious as damage control. They couldn’t fool the public with the “secret meetings” bit, so now they have to schedule a public event. Expect Kate to wear a dress that would show her stomach, touching her abdomen while looking tired and forlorn and playing up the sympathy card. She works so hard behind the scenes, you see.

One article even had a source who said that Kate works but nobody knows what type of work: “I can’t tell you what she does, but I can assure you she does a lot.” LOL LOL LOL

Also wish commenters would make distinction between “celebrities” (people famous for being famous like Paris Hilton or Khardashians) and people famous and rich for having talent, working hard, inventing something (musicians, athletes, actors, Steve Jobs). Also to remember the distinction between fame and infamy or notoriety ( people famous for having done something horrible or disgusting).

The royals are supposed to be in their own category, but should avoid the infamy niche and try to approximate the “known for work valuable to humanity in some way” category.

bluhare – I remember those days. I think I was one of the very few who was ranting at every Kate thread while everyone was praising her. LOL

Anyway, I agree with you that it’s more William than Kate. I think William is the type of person who must have everything he wants and things under his control. I remember saying it here on CB before: William is Kate’s world. William is lazy, so Kate is like him. If William doesn’t want her to work, she won’t work. Again, let’s remember that charity event Kate dropped because William told her to, never mind that she made a commitment for a good cause.

Her own laziness and lack of backbone don’t help, of course, but William is not the person to actually encourage Kate to get off her arse and do some work. Both of them are spoiled, lazy, and immature.

Remember in their engagement interview: William said he was very happy with regards to where Kate was job-wise (what job?), even though everyone knew Kate did nothing. He only cares that she is there to stroke his ego and cater to his needs.

Just imagine if Kate was a successful career-woman who earned her own money, supported herself financially, had her own group of friends, and was very independent. Would she stay and accept William’s cheating and allow the media to brand her lazy and “Waity Katy”? Would William be able to tolerate being with a strong, outspoken woman? Would Carole force her dreams of climbing the social ladder on Kate if Kate was more confident of her own abilities to succeed and refuses her mother’s plans, or would Carole have shifted her focus to Pippa?

I agree, Mia. I actually said on another post a few weeks ago that I think that we will see real changes with the RF in the next few decades. The Queen is a hard working woman. I don’t believe the British tax-payers are going to want to continue to fund lazy Katie and William in the years to come if they cannot keep up a schedule that is even half of what the Queen does. It’s really mind boggling that William hasn’t realized this by now. Or maybe he does and this is his way of getting out of the RF and his duties without actually having to say he wants out.

Seriously some people are really dense when they compare her to celebrities or other rich people because unlike them they are living of public money and their wealth comes from tax payers one way or the other and they are expected to do public work in return which they don’t. No one in rf takes this many vacations while doing so little work and she is becoming a big PR nightmare for rf considering the overwhelmingly top rated negative comments in daily mail (one of the most royalists newspaper in England)

Its another way that William is wasteful of taxpayer dollars. He recieves a full RAF pilot salary, despite his meager work commitments. I imagine his coworkers are constantly being asked to take on extra shifts to cover for Prince Willy’s absence. That position should’ve been given to a more deserving and committed candidate.

Kate and William are useless parasites. William is NOTHING like his mother, nor is Kate. Diana truly cared for those she worked to help. Yes, she had her problems and made mistakes, but at least she showed she wanted to use her unique position to do good. William and Kate want to use their positions to leech off of the tax payers so they can shop and vacation. I do not believe they give a crap about anyone but themselves.

slight “under” reaction from you Ruby…So you really enjoy to work to pay for their (extreme) holidays because they do so much for the country (what?). I am indeed appalled with all of your devotion…Hope you also contribute with all this devotion to ppl that actually do something for society…

There is an undeniable aura of “Marie Antoinette” surrounding Kate’s pampered existance.

With a winter storm due to strike, and many in Britain concerned they will not be able to pay for rising heating costs, this tone deaf display of idleness, privilege and wealth by William & his bride is a strong argument for a Republic. Never has the Monarchy looked like such a wretched investment of public resources.

Except a correction to @angelic20 regarding a grace period. This fabled grace period is a media/PR invention to explain why the-assumed-to-start-work-after-her-wedding Duchess wasn’t going to do so any time soon. After years and engagement months of tellling the world how prepared she was-remember the princess lessons that included civics and diplomacy, how she was the most prepared royal bride and how hard working she would be (it’s even in the engagement interview), she suddenly did an aboutface immediately after the wedding saying she was going to be a housewife (remember the waitrose photo ops to reinforce that narrative), and hang out with the raf wives on base. Of course none of the above has happened.

The actual so-called time for this grace period was plucked out of the air because media started talking about HM and Philip’s 2yrs in Malta after their wedding in a bid to put a more sympatheic light on this aboutface. The media conveniently forgot to mention that HM actually worked during those 2yrs, but was merely less visible due to being stationed in Malta,plus of course she had babies to keep her occupied AND she wasn’t above socialising with her husbands workmates and their wives.

A query for your expert interpretation: Why are William & Kate (lazy layabouts, the both of them) the recpients of so much positive press and general good will from the public, while Prince Harry is dragged through the mud for celebrating a return to England after spending literally months on the front line, in dutiful service to country.

Harry seems to have inherited Diana’s charisma, people skills, and hands-on method of work. Moreover, he seems genuinely interested and involved with his charitable projects. As opposed to the lazy Duchess, whose spent 11 years doing nil, and couldn’t even raise a finger to help one of her charities raise money. Yet, in the media Harry seems to always be under fire, constantly being scolded, being admonished. “The Naughty Prince”… Whilst William & Catherine are glorified for their meager and pathetic endeavors.

It an unfortunate truth that there has been an on-going media/Palace strategy to always praise the heir, cover up their mis-deeds and burnish them into the golden prince image.

By contrast, the spare is to be treated anyway the press likes. No Palace support or attempts to cover up any misdeeds.

Infact there is a policy to deflect from the misdeeds of the heir by tarnishing the spare. There have been instances were stories have been traded of the spare’s bad behaviour in order to cover up the heir’s own bad behaviour.

The other part of this policy is that the spare can never overshadow the heir. No matter what. Not even if they turned out to be mother Theresa. Any good news on the spare is always reported with a negative slant. Always. Any bad news is magnified to make the heir look like a saint in comparison.

Don’t know exactly when this policy began, but you can see it playing out with David/Bertie (this reversed when David abdicated, then all the bad stories and some fabrications came out in the media), The Queen/Margaret, Charles/Andrew and William/Harry.

The wonder is, Harry would actually make a pretty great king. I think he likes people, and manages the attention with more grace and humor than his surly brother. William should abdicate. Then he could spend all his time with Grandma Carole at the Middletons newly purchased country pile.

Where is there a statement from Buckingham Palace supporting the notion that William and Kate Middleton are part-time for two years? Does anybody have an actual reference to this ALLEGED grace period granted by HM (ie. proof)?

Press Offices:
Buckingham Palace = Her Majesty
Clarence House = Charles
St. James Palace = William and Kate

If any actual statement came from Clarence or SJP, that is Charles, William, and Kate Middleton not the Queen.

Two years off to be a plain military wife? Right. I suspect the average military wife doesn’t:
- take 8 vacations a year
- spend $150,000 of the taxpayer’s money on clothes just to kick around in because they are not working
- live in a 5 bedroom mansion on a private beach, catered to by four full-time staff including a cook and housekeeper, with a separate building just for the security staff
- have 27 full-time staff in London to handle her 1 engagement every 2 months.

Of course, since they spend almost no time in Wales, eventually some day we’ll see the proof of this waste of taxpayer’s money on an empty house.

But realistically how long do you think they can get away with this? at some point don’t you think the tabloids are going to start calling her Duchess Doolittle and calling them out? Story lines do get tired after a while.

I am betting that after the baby arrives it will be put about that Kate is busy caring for her baby and thus unavailable for much charity work. In reality I suspect an army of nannies will do the work while she lunches, shops, and vacations. BTW, does she have any friends other tha. Her family?? Did she ever?

Despite all the overriding critical comments on this site, they are still viewed upon favorably by the media and the public to an extent.

People will always grasp at straws to make excuses for them. Right now the most popular reason for this holiday is that this is a ‘babymoon’ and supposed to be their FINAL (hah!) holiday before the birth.

As long as the media will never call them out on their laziness they will continue to abuse the public’s goodwill.

Kate doesn’t give a shit. I think it’s time people realize this now. Just go back to her engagement interview to hear it straight from her mouth: she doesn’t care what others think. She only cares about William and her family’s opinions.

So screw you, peasants! Rejoice that she even graces you with her presence!

This is the same girl who shredded all sense of self-respect and dignity by lazing about for 10 years while waiting for the ring and turning a blind eye to William’s cheating! She didn’t mind all the labels of “Waity Katy” and other insults from the press. She’s living in Never Land where she doesn’t grow up. Her reality is different from ours. She’s Marie-Antoinette 2.0.

And William. WTF? He barely made the minimum required hours of work last year yet here he is on another vacation! His last royal event was in November and that was a red-carpet appearance! He’s a complete tit and a spoiled man-child who only claims he has “work” when he doesn’t want to do his duties as a royal.

He should just change his name to William Middleton and get it over with.

Kate is too sick for some charity work, but she’s fine to go shopping all week long and her HG has disappeared just in time to go to Mustique. William barely works.

These two are fools if they think the public, who are having to tighten their belts and worrying about rising heating costs this winter, are applauding their arrogance and out-of-touch antics.

Marie Antionette’s isolation and lack of an ability to relate to the common folk was forced upon her by royal tradition. The court of Versailles, where she lived, was specifically designed by Louis XIV to be isolated from the people of France. She was hauled into France an Austrian Princess who could read and write and little else because the French were worried if she was properly educated and allowed access to the common people she’d become politically powerful, and they didn’t want an Austrian to have any political influence on French affairs. A lot of the negative things you’ve hear about her, “Let them eat cake”, wracking up greater debts than anyone, and essentially being an apathetic bitch on purpose were actually rumors that have since been historically debunked and are attributed to people who hated her because she was Austrian. Part of the crazy spending rumors were based on budget published by Jacques Necker, the minister of finance at the time, who had actually published a false budget greatly exaggerating royal expenses because the King was about to fire him. There are numerous historical reports of Marie Antionette actually making attempts (very poor ones, since she really didn’t know jack shit about finance) once she heard about the suffering of the French people to curtail spending in the French Court. So yeah, Marie Antionette wasn’t the apathetic bitch people make her out to be. Most of the histories written that portray her as such were written by radical anti-Hapsburg revolutionaries. It would be like if years from now people’s opinions of Obama were based on the writings of people like Glenn Beck for their source material.

Now Kate, on the other hand…. I don’t know if she’s a bitch, but yes, she seems pretty apathetic. I believe that she has always believed that being a Princess/Duchess that it would basically mean still being rich, but with the added bonuses of having fancy titles, living in castles, being uber famous, and having people bow to you and nothing else. I also believe she has purposely ignored any opinions or evidence to the contrary. She wants all the goodies and none of the responsibilities.

Why do taxpayers pay for the royal family? Its so so stupid. I know they own a lot of land, but why do taxpayers fund their expensive lifestyle? What charity work is she supposed to do – show up? I would have preferred her at least bothering to donate money.

Now we know what the extra shopping was about. I feel like she nothing more than a reflection of William. She doesn’t do anything without him. She’s never done anything without him. So all my distaste for her habits will now be directed at him.
Except for the clothes & hair, because anybody who spends that much time on their looks and nothing else should have a better idea of what works on them.

I’m sorry, but why not address the issue at hand, which is William and Kate’s laziness, instead of derailing the topic by citing “other people”? Is this the only way to make Kate and William look better? By saying “Well, other people are just as lazy, so William and Kate are not the only ones and they still come off better”?

Talk about grasping at straws.

NYC socialites fight each other to get on charity foundations and organize fundraisers. It helps their profiles for publicity, sure, but it also helps the charities they choose to support.

They don’t all spend their time shopping and getting their hair done. How else would these rich families maintain their wealth and businesses if nobody is hardworking enough to put in any effort? I doubt these Old Money families would readily give the job and inheritance to a stranger when they can mold their descendants to worthy successors.

Look at Lauren Santo Domingo: married to a billionaire, NYC socialite, very influential and powerful in the NYC social scene…yet she still works and keeps a profile independent of her husband’s wealth. It helps that she has the money to spearhead a lot of projects, but the keys here are her initiative and vision to be so much more than a trophy wife. She doesn’t have to work, but she chooses to do so. She doesn’t represent any country, but she keeps an active role in charity works.

Sachi- I love Lauren. Apart from being super stylish, she is very down to earth and hard-working (she is the co-funder of Moda Operand, a fashion website where you can buy runway clothes before they go on sale which is great for the ones that love fashion). I met her once because of her husband’s nephew Julio and she appeared to be a very grounded and relatble person with priorities and aware of social issues.

When American taxpayers stop paying millions for the presidents vacations, and those of his family then I’ll start worrying about what the royal children, who have no part in running their country yet, do in their spare time.

And since when do our taxes pay for the president’s vacations? Yes, our tax dollars contribute to his annual salary of $400,000 a year. We pay him this salary because, like his policies or not, he’s doing a job for us by running this country. If he chooses to spend that money on vacations, that’s his choice but in no way are you being taxed additional money for the president’s vacations. On the other hand, the royals are being paid tax money in turn for providing a service as well, that is representing the UK abroad and by doing a lot of charity work locally. The arguments here have stated over and over again that it’s utter bullshit for William and Kate to continue to benefit from the lifestyle while shirking the responsibility that comes along with it. It’s as simple as that. You cannot compare them to trustfund babies living on their parents’ dime because that is not what they are. They are public servants and as such they have duties to their country beyond attending galas and red carpet events. What is so hard to understand about that?

Plus presidents, both Dem and GOP (no bias here), are cognizant of citizens’ scrutiny of their vacation time so they’re generally careful about paying for their own vacations and have the paperwork to back it up.

Do you honestly think the royals will be capable of doing the work that Presidents and Prime Ministers do? Really? You’re derailing the topic by citing an example that doesn’t really work. A President has more on his plate than royals will ever have in their lifetimes yet a President earns less. And a President has only 4 years (subject to re-election) to work on these issues, not 20-30 years like some royals with their duties.

I’d like to see William and Kate go on a tour to promote peace talks in the Middle East, handle hostage crises in Somalia, resolve the “war on terrorism” and bring the troops home, tackle the tanking economy, address gun violence, solve immigration problems, promote a healthier lifestyle for kids, and bring focus to the country’s education and other services that are in need of funding.

Kate couldn’t even behave appropriately while honouring those who died for her country during the 2 World Wars or be somber enough to sign a book of condolence for the New Zealand earthquake victims. How is she going to represent the UK in diplomatic trips and high-tension talks?

If only the royals can tackle these issues and try to work on them without taking a vacation 8 times a year and disappearing from public 2-3 months a time only to show up for 1-hour to the unveiling of a portrait designed to boost their own ego. People begrudge politicians but at least some of them genuinely care about running their country.

I can name few royals who strike me as genuinely hardworking and interested in the work they do for their countries. Hint: William and Kate are far from my list.

I hear you but I say let’s expect no more than baby steps from Kate at this point. Never mind world issues. If she’d support even one charity, perhaps involving women and/or kids, in a truly engaged and hands-on way, it would be a step in the right direction.

Surprisingly, Prince William and his wife, Catherine, the duchess of Cambridge, and Prince Harry are not paid for the royal duties they perform, though they are reimbursed for any related expenses and they do live rent-free.

Prince Harry receives $60,000 a year as a captain of the British Army, according to Discovery Finance. And his brother, the future king, Prince William, receives $61,300 as a flight lieutenant helicopter pilot of Search and Rescue in the Royal Air Force. However, the vast majority of the boys’ money comes from an inheritance their mother, Princess Diana, left them. Ever since they turned 21, both have had access to the $450,000-per-year investment profit off of the $10 million their mother left them. Once they turn 30, they can access the entire $10 million (William recently hit that milestone).

they take tax payers funded security , palace renovations, travel expenses, butler( hired by William through ministry of defense i.e. tax payers to lay out his clothes) , absolutely all the expenses attached with public duties are paid by tax payers and all the other expenses from clothes to food to housing to jewelry to domestic help and all the other personal staff members are paid by Charles through duchy of Cornwall which is a public fund and he gets huge tax rebates on all these expenses i.e. again all their expenses are paid by us directly or indirectly . i am British ,so please don’t teach me how much i am paying for these two useless lazy people. they are rich but they don’t use their personal money.

I do not recall Bush taking vacations but I do recall him moving his office and operations to Crawford Texas much like Reagan did with his California ranch. So if you are tallying up the days he spent in Crawford Texas then he probably did spend more time off site than other presidents. I would not categorize that the same as vacationing for enjoyment and relaxation.I am a Libertarian and I personally think Bush destroyed the GOP so there is no bias here regarding Bush.

Bush spent so much time at his ranch, that you consider it a defacto second White House? That’s rather strange to me, and Reagan setting a precedent doesn’t alter my view.
But I’m curious: What if Obama set up a base of operations in Hawaii? Would that expense also be okay?

He was in fact president! Seriously! July 21st, 2007 President Bush during his 2nd term underwent full anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. As the president was unable to carry out his duties his 2nd in command took over. Paperwork was signed to make Cheney President for 2 full hours and who knows what happened then.

And yea, Cheney had control the whole time, but it was legal for those 2 hours.

JL – I am in no position to argue your figures with regards The Obamas and the American system but that report is wrong about how the princes are funded. The fact that all their figures are in $ without bothering to change the figures to reflect the different currency exchange rate is an immediate red flag to me.

1. They receive the standard salary that any soldier of their rank receives at their respective services.

2. They have money from 3 sources:
a) Prince Charles funds ALL of William/Harry/Kate’s expenses from his duchy income. It is not known how much they get exactly. Some items are extrapolated since they are tax exemptions like Kate’s wardrobe and grooming expenses when working. They have received this money since they were 21. [exception of Kate who went on Charles payroll at her wedding]. He also funds their offices.

b) At 25, each grandchild starts to receive an income from the royal family trusts. this includes ALL of them, not just William and Harry. I am talking the extended family. Again, no one knows exactly how much this amounts to but a conservative estimate is £250K [$400K]annually for the core grandkids e.g The Queen/Margaret’s grandkids vs the other grandkids from The Kents/Gloucesters etc who receive less.

c) Diana’s money was put into a trust and allowed to grow until they reached 30 to be distributed equally between the boys. This was a change from her stated preference in her will to have Harry receive the bilk of it and for them to get it at 25. At her death and after taxes, the trust was worth around £12M-£13M [$19M-$21M]. William receiving £10M [$16M] indicates that it had grown to £20M [$32M]. Since the rest is still in trust, i presume Harry will receive slightly more than William.

Further to the list @Angelic20 has provided, you also add in William freeloading off of the Middletons. No wonder he spends so much time with them. He never pays for anything when he is with him. They have paid for every single holiday he has taken with them. it’s no wonder they tag along to all of them….getting their money’s worth out of it.

They barely touch any private money they have because they live in government buildings free of charge or they live on The Queen’s estates or Charles pays. All their expenses are covered by Charles or the Tax payer. Charles’ money is a public fund and though he pays tax on any profits he makes from the fund, he still receives tax rebates on those profits.

Dream On!!
William was born a “Prince” and will die a Prince (or King). – it cannot be taken away.
As for his other titles (Duke, Earl, Baron, etc) conferred by the Queen or his HRH – Well, she will never take those away! …Quite the contrary, she’ll probably grant him MORE titles before she dies!!

What’s the point of having a “king” or a “prince” if the UK becomes a republic like France? You’re right, there are many “princes,” “dukes” and “kings” all over Europe (France, Romania, Russia, etc.) who currently hold no power, but I bet you they pay for their own security, though, and not with the taxpayers’ money. I should’ve said “Otherwise, they should give up the privilege.”

My friend from the UK kept telling me how lazy K and W were and I’m starting to see it for the first time. Kate literally does nothing (even before the pregnancy.)

And I would be whatever if they were regular rich people with no real responsibility, but they are the future monarchs of England. When those topless pics of Kate came out in France, it looked really bad because it showed that they had skipped out on the Paraplegic Olympics (they had made up some excuse) and went on vacation.

My UK friend straight up said “Will wants the perks of being a royal without having to do anything.”

Say what you want about Harry, but at least he commits to his royal obligations and visits his charities, and does his tours and appearances.

Heck, if you compare all the charities and formals Beatrice, Eugine, and Harry do, they would blow both of them out of the water.

uk taxpayers pay an arm and a leg for this royal family, and this is what they do? harry embarrasses them with those Vegas pics? confiscate everyone’s cell phone when he’s doing something like that! seriously? i’d be pissed if i was a UK taxpayer.

Hi– just my two cents: (given that everyone seems outraged for the Royals to take holidays)– its customary to have some days off as “winter holiday” in Europe around these days (I have a lot of friends going skiing and what not) so– is “normal” in Europe to have this break.

Whether they go far away during it, its a separate matter, but the break is there…

Camp 3: They both are highly educated (or at least attended prestigious universities). By no stint or dent of their own, they are very wealthy. He has access and the power of position. She has “looks”. When you combine all of those things, for us socially minded sorts, they are in a position to do great things. Because they haven’t and/or aren’t that rankles. They are 30 years old! The youth and blush is off of that rose.

@ RocketMerry nailed it. They have chances and possibilities of being influential but are squandering it. While it is true that they, theoretically, have all of their lives for to be powerful and influential, if not now, when? I have worked full-time, while going to school (college) full-time, and managed to do volunteer work—not because I had to do it for a grade but because I was passionate about the cause. I play the Powerball lottery simply with the hope of having a lot of money to donate to the causes I don’t get around to but support! And people whose highest ambition is to up-trade and/or marry well for personable and selfish gain kind of piss off people like me.

For all of you who are romanticizing the “stay at home princess-mom” thing (cause I don’t quite know what to call it) as well as the “so romantic young love” angle, they don’t have the luxury of living a private life. They have the discretion sometimes but not the luxury. And here is where they are ABSOLUTELY TONE DEAF! Although they may have private wealth, right now they are recognized as quasi-public servants. And the public is not getting its money’s worth. Prince Harry, and all of his shenanigans, looks to have more gravitas than these two grifters. Include the The York sisters as well. All three show up for work with a sense of dignity and respect. William is intent on living out some public revenge for Mummy type of fantasy and his sycophant of a wife and her family will deliver it. There is nothing romantic about that. It’s time for the press to take the kid gloves off and start calling what it is. Cause see, despite the oooh what an angel Princess Diana is/was hubbub that was/is flying around, the public would have gotten pretty tired of her sailing around on the back of Dodi’s boat too.

Finally, as for the comment about them picking up speed as they age (as is working until they are 80), if they have started like they mean to finish, then their senior years will be low-stressed and comfortable indeed. What else would you call moving from one sandy beach to one semi-private chateau after the other? Work? Nope. Not even in the land of make believe.

P.S. I have a co-worker who does jack sh*t (nothing or close enough to it), but what she is expert at is looking like she is doing something. It’s all busy work. Smoke and mirrors; cloak and dagger BS. Everybody knows that it’s low-quality, look at me I’m busy, busy, busy BS. Why did I bring this up? W/K don’t even have the wherewithall or the “give a damn-ness” to even mount this type of charade! That, in and of itself, adds insult to injury.

I’m done. I promised myself I would not comment on these two anymore. They don’t add value to my life one way or the other. However, they could bring value to the lives of many, many people and/or cause.

i was wondering when people would notice that. Especially when Harry will be travelling abroad soon after they return.

people couldn’t understand why it was such a big deal that he spent Christmas with The Middletons, but here is visible proof that he spends all his spare time, including national holidays with The Middletons unless he can squeeze a gift out of attending the royal family. In this case the christmas shoot. Since his father wasn’t at the shoot, i wonder how long since he saw him……

Gosh, and Harry hasn’t gone on a vacation yet (although he does appear to have attended one heck of a party last Saturday!). I’ll take Harry over these two any day of the week. He has his own charity, as well as the Duke/Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Henry foundation, and he has shown himself popular and grounded enough to be asked to be special representative for Britain to China this year.

Isn’t that something? That even with the policy LAK explained way above Harry is still the popular one. The reliable royal that is asked to speak and represent. He has overcome so much. Learning disabilities, loss of his mother at a young age, and negative press. All while growing up in the public eye.

Though I don’t find him physically attractive his personality makes up for that, but that’s how I view most people.

And keep hoping that the Middletons are paying for the travel, housing, meals, and overtime for all of the Royal Protection Officers that went with them? Remember, if William and Kate had stayed home, only regular costs of security would have been incurred.

W&K private holidays (incl. flights) are normally all paid for by Kate’s parents (or William himself), NOT by us taxpayers. The annual holiday in Mustique in Jan/Feb (reportedly to celebrate Carole’s Birthday) is a Middleton’s tradition. Pippa & James would be there too.
The annual budget for royal security covers All activities ((24/7 protection) – incl. visits, weekend breaks & holidays. William bodyguards would be with him wherever he was, this extends to his family.
W&K don’t receive any money from the taxpayer. What they do with their private money/time is their business. Kate’s parents are wealthy (very likely she has her own money/trusfund), she had a privileged life before meeting William.

@ Sisi. You seem to have missed this point: “Remember, if William and Kate had stayed home, only regular costs of security would have been incurred. ”

If they took an extended break at say, Sandringham, the costs of feeding and housing the RPOs would be nominal. They have now incurred extra costs of flying multiple RPOs to Mustique, the costs of renting the housing for RPOs, and the costs of reimbursing them for all food costs. Plus, since the RPOs are away from their families 24×7 by being in Mustique, they may be incurring overtime charges instead of costs for standard 8 hour shifts. We do not know if those costs are being covered by the Middletons or by the Duchy. I suspect it is the Duchy (ie. taxpayers) paying.

Again, William and Kate are funded out of the Duchy (Charles), which does eventually track back to being tax payer funding.

My2pence, you wilfully ignore the fact that William was born Royal. As a future King, he has always had 24/7 security (even before he was born), whether he likes it or not. He cannot be expected to be the only royal not to get on with his life, not be with family (incl. the Middletons) or friends, or stop doing what he’s accustomed to, and become a recluse because of concerns over security or privacy (when they are not being compromised) – Same for Kate & their children who would also be heirs.
Wealthy people, not just royals will normally have many short breaks & holidays in a year, often abroad because they can afford them. This has nothing to do with whether they “work” or not. Their “regular” security arrangements will take all these activities into account
Kate’s parents are paying for the vacation (incl. flights) like they do every year. W&K are NOT funded by the taxpayer. Charles contribution towards their expenses cannot reasonably be regarded as being taxpayers funding. Under current arrangemnts, the Duchy of Cornwall is not subsidised by tax payers. As the heir, Charles is entitled to run & draw income from the duchy but he does not own the estate outright, nor he can sell parts of the state for his own benefit.

SISI, where is your proof that the Middletons paid for that fabulous 19,000 pound/week villa in Mustique? Please share it with us. I have no problem if the Middletons paid for everything and everyone whenever they go on trips. They deserve it: they’re the ones who work hard (as opposed to William and Catherine). It’s a shame how work ethic is often not passed on to the next (privileged) generation.

As someone once wrote, one may live a privileged, enviable lifestyle, but someone is paying for that lifestyle and it’s not free.

@ Sisi. In my opinion, it is William who is willfully ignoring the fact that he was born royal. With that ridiculous privilege comes responsibility, which many people clearly think he is ducking.

While wealthy people may take these kinds of breaks regularly, it clearly looks bad to a significant percentage of the public that members of the British royal family are vacationing so lavishly in the midst of such hardship back at home.

We are sharing opinions on this site, and facts like quotes from interviews when those can be found. It is your opinion that Kate’s family is paying for everything, including the added costs for security. That is your opinion, based on heresay or what you’ve read and believed over the years. It is not verifiable fact unless you have a bank statement from the Middletons or a statement from SJP.

Under a Republic, the properties and monies from the Duchy of Cornwall would be returned to the taxpayers. So yes, the Duchy does eventually track back to belonging to the tax payers.